Una, January 24
This year, the National Cadet Corps (NCC) contingents will be missing from the official Republic Day functions to be organised at the state and district headquarters. The uniformed organisation, having a cadet strength of about 14,000 in Himachal Pradesh, has opted not to participate in the march past since the state government has failed to allocate its 25 per cent share of funds for the last many years.

The annual NCC training camps have already been suspended in the state from the current academic session. This year, no NCC cadet is likely to get the coveted certification, which would have enabled them to secure additional grace marks for entry into the military, paramilitary or police forces.

About 20 years ago, the daily mess allowance per cadet for camps was Rs 40, which was increased to Rs 75 in 2005. Now, this allowance has been revised to Rs 105.

While all other states are making 25 per cent contribution of their share on the revised rates, the Himachal Government is contributing only Rs 10 per cadet as daily allowance on the basis of the pre-2005 rates. This year, even this amount has not been released by the government.

An NCC officer, unwilling to be named, said, "The annual training camps were to be held in October, but since the state government has not given its share of funds till date, the cadets from the state will not be eligible to appear in the final NCC examinations, which are to be held in February 2014," adding that since the cadets will not be getting the certificates, the organisation has no right to ask them to participate in drills and march pasts.

Meanwhile, Cadet Ajay Kumar, who is also an activist of the National Students Union of India besides being president of the College Student Central Association of Government College, Una, expressed his deep resentment on the issue, saying uniformed forces were one of the main employment providers to the state’s youth, but without the NCC certification, they will have very limited scope for recruitment.

The state government's insensitivity on such an important issue is surprising, while it claims to be a pro-youth government, said some affected cadets.

Shimla, January 24
The state will set up a horticulture hub at a cost of over Rs 200 crore at Shilaru in the district to encourage post-harvesting and processing of various fruits and vegetables.

The Agriculture Department has already transferred 100 acres to the Horticulture Department for the purpose. More land will be transferred so that better facilities can be created at Shilaru, about 40 km from here.

“There is an urgent need to develop modern post-harvesting processing facilities to preserve the quality of fruit during transportation,” says Horticulture Minister Vidya Stokes. She says the wide variety of fruits and vegetables grown in the state can be processed in a much better way and exported.

“We have already proposed the project to the Union Ministry of Agriculture so that it can be developed as a Centre of Excellence,” said Vineet Chawdhry, Additional Chief Secretary, Horticulture and Health and Family Welfare. He said the share of the state government alone would be about Rs 100 crore, with liberal funding from the Centre too expected.

The proposed project at Shilaru has also been included on the list of sites which the Horticulture Department proposes to develop it under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

The project has also been referred to the Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board so that private investors could be invited to develop the site as a place with modern processing and storage facilities.

The hub will have a food processing unit, control atmospheric store, dehydration unit and other such facilities which will help in preservation and optimum utilisation of the horticulture and agriculture produce. Almost 75 per cent of the fruit has to be sent out of the state with practically no post-harvest facilities.

With the setting up of the hub, apple, peach, plum, apricot and pear can be used for making juice, jams, jellies, pickles, squash, candy and other such items which are in a great demand. With certain parts of Shimla district such as Theog and Solan district emerging as the major off-season vegetable growing areas, these can be dehydrated and exported, bringing in better returns to the growers. Mushroom, ginger and garlic too can be put to varied uses.

Palampur, January 24
The government will open nine degree colleges in the state from the next academic session.

Talking to mediapersons at Baijnath yesterday, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said a notification for the opening of the colleges was already issued and the budget would be allocated for the next financial year.

The Chief Minister said three out of the nine degree colleges would come up at Ladh Bharol, Sandhol and Rewalsar in Mandi district.

Two degree colleges each would be set up at Dharampur and Diggal in Solan district and Kumarsain and Nankhari in Shimla district.

Besides, two degree colleges at Nagrota Surian in Kangra and Sarahan in Sirmaur had also been notified.

Virbhadra said he had promised people to open these colleges during the Assembly elections when he visited these places, which he had fulfilled now.

He said the government had already started the process for acquiring land and other infrastructure for the colleges. These would be functional under a time-bound programme.

Meanwhile, the Education Department would start classes from April 1 at rented buildings.

The CM said his government had given top priority to the health and education sectors and had earmarked 60 per cent of the total budget for these two departments.

Solan, January 24
Facing low industrial production and recession, investors are demanding a reduction in the central sales tax, electricity duty and abolition of additional goods tax in their pre-budget demands for the next financial year from the state government.

The Himachal chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) handed over its charter of demands to Shrikant Baldi, Principal Secretary, Finance and Excise and Taxation, in Shimla yesterday and requested him to consider their genuine demands.

Spelling out their agenda, president of CII’s Himachal chapter Aakash Garg said they had requested the government to bring down the central sales tax (CST) from 1 per cent for the existing industries and 0.5 per cent for the new industries, abolish additional goods tax and bring down the electricity duty by 5 per cent as these were entailing a heavy burden on the investors.

The investors were also seeking simplification of administration of taxes, especially value added tax, as its complexities were creating problems.

Though the state government had introduced a single application form for facilitating the investors, the entrepreneurs felt an Information Technology-enabled Single Window Clearance System was urgently required to cut down on the delays.

With a view to boost industrialisation, formation of Investment Promotion Cell, provision of graded concessions to the investors investing in the interior areas and formation of the Industry Advisory Council were the other proposals mooted by the CII.

Garg said efforts like preparation of a vision document with an aim to position the state as “Preferred Investment Destination”, creation of integrated industrial townships and upgrade of existing industrial clusters were their other demands.

The investors further demanded formation of vendor development parks, vendor development cells, venture capital fund and incubation centre for the medium, small and micro enterprises.

Dharamsala, January 24
The photograph of Minister for Food and Civil Supplies GS Bali on the calendars of the state government is blurred in which Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh is seen distributing a bag of foodgrains to a woman.

Bali said he was aware of the matter and would be writing to the Chief Minister over the issue. Employees involved in the publication of the calendar would be taken to task for this mischief, Bali said.

Sources said the deliberate act of blurring the photograph of GS Bali could be attributed to deep factionalism in the ruling Congress.

The sources added that Bali’s photograph was also missing from the posters of the Transport Department, which were being used to spread awareness of the transport policies for the benefit of a common man.

The Congress had been criticising the previous government for publishing the photograph of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the bags in which the Public Distribution System (PDS) ration was distributed to people of the state.

However, the present government has replaced Vajpayee’s photographs with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies GS Bali.

The new cards being issued by the Food and Civil Supplies Department which recognises woman as the family head would also have the photos of the said leaders.

However, Bali’s blurred photograph in the calenders of the state government has antagonised him.

Shimla, January 24
Even as a meeting convened by Rahul Gandhi to discuss the candidates for the Rajya Sabha in Delhi tomorrow has been cancelled, the contenders from the state are lobbying hard to seek the blessings of the high command, especially Sonia Gandhi.

The seat will fall vacant in April on the completion of the tenure of BJP leader Shanta Kumar.

It is reliably learnt that the AICC has decided to call off the meeting which had been convened to discuss the candidates for the Rajya Sabha with the Chief Ministers and Congress presidents of 16 states where 55 seats are vacant.

"AICC chief Sonia Gandhi will now decide on the names in consultation with the Congress general secretary in charge for that particular state," said Congress sources.

It is learnt that with Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents in many states being contenders for the Rajya Sabha seats, it has been decided to leave the decision to the AICC chief.

In Himachal too, state Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu is a frontrunner for nomination to the Rajya Sabha.

Even as the possibility of leaders such as former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and AICC treasurer Moti Lal Vora being nominated from either Himachal Pradesh or Haryana remaining open, the state aspirants are busy lobbying in Delhi. With reports of nomination of an outsider from Himachal, which has only three Rajya Sabha seats, drawing sharp criticism, it is not certain whether the high command will 
consider an outsider for the seat.

Prominent among those who are in the race, besides Sukhu, are Viplove Thakur, a former Rajya Sabha MP, and former minister Gangu Ram Musafir.

Sources said though Virbhadra Singh was learnt to have forwarded the name of Gangu Ram, his staunch loyalist, he would also not be averse to the nomination of Harsh Mahajan, HPCC vice-president and former minister. Mahajan, who avoided contesting the last two Assembly elections, is also lobbying for the post using his connections in the AICC.

With just four days left for the last date of nomination for the Rajya Sabha seats, the high command could take a decision on the candidates to be fielded for the House in the next two days.

Manali, January 24
A 14-day basic and advance skiing course organised by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, concluded at Solang ski slopes, 13 km from here, today.

Participants during a ski course at Solang, 13 km from Manali

While 43 boys and girls from different parts of the country participated in the basic skiing course, 15 of them completed their advance skiing course. As the Solang valley received snowfall, hundreds of ski lovers participated in different skiing courses.

On the last day of the course, senior mountaineering and rescue instructor Inder Dev Sharma pinned badges onto the successful participants and congratulated them on successfully completing their training programme. He said the institute was playing a vital role in promoting adventure sports and had produced many mountaineers and skiers of national as well as international standards. The institute was also generating self-employment among youth in the state, he added.

Shimla, January 24
Total 147 applicants, out of 310, were lucky in the draw conducted by Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority (Himuda) for its 30 different colonies in the state.

The results were video graphed and declared in the presence of applicants from across the country yesterday at Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority head office here.

Secretary, Urban Development and Chief Executive Officer, Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority, had constituted the announcement committee for the draw, which was headed by chief engineer, Himachal Pradesh Housing and Urban Development Authority, Dinesh Kashyap and comprised architects Ashok Gupta and S Divan and Secretary and administrative officer Rameshwar Dripta as its members.

The flats would come up at 30 colonies in Shimla, Dharamsala, Baddi, Nalagarh, Kullu, Paonta Sahib, Nurpur and other areas of the state.

The committee members claimed that the process was carried out in a transparent manner. Dripta said those who had deposited the money and whose name did not figure in the list would get their money back by January 31.

Himuda would complete the allotment for the winners within 45 days. The second round of draw would be held in March, the applications for which would be invited till February, the officials added.

Chamba, January 24
The Forest Department on Friday recommended that nine officials be awarded with certificates of merit. This is part of the Republic Day celebrations here.

They have done outstanding work in the field of conservation and protection of forests from illegal activities and raised saplings and nurseries.

Chief Conservator of Forests ARM Reddy said today that these forest officials were Pooja Devi, Tilak Raj, Hempal, Neeraj Gupta, Dheeraj Kumar, Kuldeep Singh, Sunil Kumar, Pradeep Kumar — all forest guards — and deputy ranger Bushara Ram.

These officials had been selected after the recommendations from the Divisional Forest Officers and personal observation on their performance during the past one year, he said.

Solan, January 24
Local councillors today demanded a Vigilance inquiry into the Rs 64 lakh Palika Bazar constructed without no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Town and Country Planning Department.

This project was started in 2010 to give shops to roadside kiosk owners for generating revenue for the MC and its foundation stone was laid by former Chief Minister PK Dhumal.

It has, however, failed to get an NOC from the TCP Department. Though the MC had initially submitted its case for the approval of its building map, it failed to address the objections raised by the department.

Today’s general house was convened to take stock of the situation where little action had been taken by the MC against illegal constructions going on in the town.

Such constructions, especially one involving a senior Congress leader, were condemned and legal action was demanded by BJP councillors led by vice-president Pawan Gupta.

Six storeys of the building had been raised as against the stipulated norms of three plus one.

Though the media had been informed that the MC had identified 27 buildings which had violated norms, notices were served only on eight buildings, according to information by the MC executive officer.

The BJP councillors have demanded details of action in such cases in the next meeting. While two Congress councillors and the MC president remained absent from this crucial general house, lack of action against the violators was attributed to the general house.

Sundernagar, January 24
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sundernagar, Ranjeet Singh opened a legal aid clinic at Mahadev gram panchayat here.

Supreme Court Judge Justice RM Lodha today opened 49 legal aid clinics in villages of Himachal Pradesh through video conferencing and this clinic was a part of the same programme.

District Sessions Judge Purender Vaidya inaugurates a legal aid clinic in Kullu on Friday. Photo: Abhinav Vashisht

He said that two para-legal volunteers and a retaining lawyer would be available once a week and impart free legal aid to the public.

Virender Singh Thakur and Naveen Kumar, president, Mahadev gram panchayat, also spoke on the occasion.

KULLU: Legal aid clinics were opened at Balh gram panchayat of Kullu block and Chaini gram panchayat of Banjar block here today.

Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam and Supreme Court Judge and National Legal Services Authority executive chairman Justice RN Lodha inaugurated legal aid clinics through video conferencing and webcast.

District Sessions Judge Purender Vaidya said legal aid clinics had been opened in Balh, Chaini and Jagatsukh gram panchayats.

Dharamsala, January 24
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has said a project of Rs 842-crore will be submitted to the Centre for 2013-2017 under the Rashtriya Uchhatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). He was presiding over the State Higher Education Plan meeting under RUSA at Dharamsala yesterday.

Virbhadra said the RUSA project would be funded on a 90:10 basis by the Centre and the state government. He said Himachal was one of the states that implemented RUSA under the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) from the current session.

He said 72 Government Degree Colleges (including five Government Sanskrit Colleges), five Government-aided colleges and HPU and Himachal Pradesh Technical University would be covered under this project.

He said “cluster universities” would be created in Shimla, Mandi and Dharamsala by clubbing the infrastructure of five colleges.